


you're part of the past, but now you're the future

by regionals



Series: TMWYL [2]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, is there a tag for when u repair a relationship with an estranged family member
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 20:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17432894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regionals/pseuds/regionals
Summary: tyler hasn't talked to his family in six years.as things do, that changes.





	you're part of the past, but now you're the future

**Author's Note:**

> surprise bitch

josh is sitting in his office, going between playing a video game and answering emails when he hears a little _ding_ going off, signaling he has a new email. he tabs out of his game, pulls up google chrome, and hits refresh on his email. the subject line of the newest email reads, _"to whom it may concern,"_ which piques josh's interest a bit. he half expects it to be some die hard baseball fanboy trying to get his attention, but as he reads the email, he realizes that is absolutely _not_ what this email is.

the email is from a man who claims to be tyler's father, and the email essentially says that he's trying to contact josh because tyler is blatantly ignoring him and the rest of his family, and that tyler's family is interested in meeting them, and trying to make headway on repairing their relationship with tyler.

josh isn't sure if he should believe the email, at least up until he looks at the attachments. attached are two images. one is an image of a baby bearing the same soul mark as josh has, so he assumes it's a baby picture of tyler. he saves it, despite the fact he finds this email a little creepy. the second picture is a picture of tyler, three kids who look a handful of years younger than him, and two people who he assumes are his soulmate's parents.

josh doesn't reply to the email, but he moves it to his, _"deal with later,"_ folder.

♃☿

dealing with it later means that after nathan is in bed, and once josh is settled into his own bed, cozied on up to tyler, he brings it up. "your dad emailed me this morning," josh mumbles as he looks to the tv, which is playing a movie.

"hm," is the only noise tyler makes. he doesn't move and josh doesn't even hear his heartbeat pick up from where his head is on his chest.

"aren't you interested to hear what he had to say to me? at all?"

"they're only interested in contacting me because you're... _affluent,_ and also because they think that since i'm technically now able to provide them with a grandchild, i'm worthy of their love." tyler shrugs just slightly, and moves his arm from josh's lower back to where it's around his shoulders.

"it didn't sound that way to me. to me, it sounded like an apologetic father looking to make amends, and not knowing what else to do other than to contact me. he didn't even mention my son, once, aside from saying, and i quote, _'interested in visiting with the three of us.'_ other than that, he wasn't brought up. he also didn't bring up any of my... _wealth._ he did mention, though, that since i'm famous, in the loosest of terms, your family's been getting a lot of questions about you."

"probably their church wondering why they never told anyone i'm a faggot," tyler mutters.

what tyler said wasn't funny at all, but josh doesn't know how else to react, other than to let out a nervous giggle. "i doubt that. have you read any of their messages or emails?"

"... no."

josh scoffs. "why not?"

"i'm not interested in seeing them. my last interaction with them involved my mom shoving me into a bookcase, bruising my back and a handful of my ribs, and then, literally, spitting on me and telling me she never wanted to see me again. my dad just sat there like a fucking sack while she did it, too, so i _really_ don't want to see any of them."

josh sighs, and frowns as he brings his thumb to his mouth to nibble on his nail. he has to think for awhile before settling on what to say. "you're always telling me communication is important, and that forgiveness is a virtue."

"i'm not forgiving my mom."

"i'm not saying that you have to, but that it's a choice. i'm also saying that i think you should communicate with your parents, and to, at the very least, have a conversation with them to see if they're being sincere, i guess."

"my mom hasn't been the one contacting either of us, josh. my dad emailed you, and he's emailed and called me a handful of times, so, really, what you mean to say is i should have a conversation with my dad."

josh rolls his eyes. "fine. i think you should talk to your dad. i'm not saying be best friends with him, but as someone whose parents have been dead for five or six years, i just think it's important to have a relationship with them, even if it's strained."

♃☿

tyler puts off talking to his dad until the middle of october. (josh approached him about the idea in september.) he's sitting on the couch with nathan, who is covered in a blanket and napping with his head on tyler's lap, since he has a pretty bad cold, when he decides to read his emails.

he doesn't get a lot of emails, so it doesn't take him long to find a handful of emails from his dad.

the oldest email is his dad explaining that he and tyler's mother had gotten a divorce, and, _oh._ tyler wasn't expecting that. he feels his collarbones ache and his arms tense as he continues reading the email. they divorced, because she went after jay for something stupid, injured him _severely,_ and wound up with a prison sentence. it's a turn of events he wasn't expecting. the email is dated from almost exactly a year ago.

the next email is from shortly after josh and tyler had been spotted together, with nathan, at a restaurant. the day after those photos turned up, josh had done some interview about his _soulmate_ , and tyler figures word got back to his father about it. the email basically asks him if he and josh are _soulmates,_ and that if they are, he's happy for either of them.

the third email has tears starting to flow out of tyler's eyes. it has a zip file attached with a bunch of family photos, almost all of which exclude his mom, and tyler wants to cry, because he hasn't spoken to any of these people in six years. he misses his siblings more than anything in the fucking world and he hates that he hasn't been able to talk to them or see them.

the fourth email was sent the same day josh had approached tyler about the situation with his parents. it's a short email, explaining that his dad would really appreciate a response, and that he's not above emailing everyone tyler knows to make it happen. parents are pushy and weird that way and tyler feels guilty as fuck about it, even though he knows that, logically, he's within his rights to have cut off contact with his parents.

♃☿

tyler doesn't get a chance to talk to josh until after halloween, since he'd been gone, working in a different state on some acting gig. tyler tries his best to keep up with josh's work stuff, outside of baseball, if only to be considerate, but he can get a little scatterbrained sometimes.

tyler's rubbing icyhot onto josh's back for him, since he's sore from traveling, and since his body hasn't quite recovered from baseball season yet, when he brings it up. "i read my dad's emails," he mumbles as he works his thumbs into a knot in josh's back.

"what did they say?"

"my mom's in prison, for going after my youngest brother in a drunken rage, and dad... wants to know if it'd be possible to... i dunno. speak to me, i guess, now that she's out of the picture. he wasn't overly specific about it, and the emails were over a year old. i know i said i didn't want to talk to him, and i don't mean to look like an asshole, but... i kind of do, now. i just don't know how to go about it."

"i think a good place to start would be to email him back and to tell him that you'd be interested in talking to him. you don't have to justify yourself and if he makes you... you don't have to reply." josh sounds like he's going to waffle on for a few more minutes, but tyler starts digging his thumb into a particularly bad knot in his back, which makes josh make some sort of provocative noise. "i think the stench of this icyhot is the only thing keeping me from popping a boner."

tyler snorts and grins a little bit as he shakes his head. "i love you so much. jesus."

♃☿

tyler thinks it's odd that the only times he has the confidence to bother with his dad is when nathan is sleeping either on him, or nearby. nathan is drooling onto his chest, leaving a dark spot on his shirt, and tyler's heart is so full that he feels like now is a good time to answer his dad. it's nearing thanksgiving and he feels bad for putting it off so long.

♃☿

_**from:** _ _tyler (trjdemail@gmail.com) at 8:47 PM_

i don't think i'm emotionally ready to see any of you in person but i think i can have a conversation.

♃☿

the email conversation tyler has with his father is oddly casual. he's expecting to get crowded into a deep heart to heart, but he winds up just catching his father up on his life, and, with josh's permission, sends him a few pictures of him, josh, and nathan. he's a little uncomfortable, and he's sure that shows in his emails, but for the most part, the conversation is... nice.

♃☿

“hey, nathan?” tyler asks while the two of them are working on a diorama that nathan has to do for school.

“hm?” he looks up at tyler while he dips a paintbrush into green acrylic paint.

“so… you know how i don't talk about my parents very much...?" tyler gently takes to painting on a sky onto part of the cardboard box they're building the diorama out of. "if _you_ went awhile without talking to _your_ dad... would you talk to him again?"

nathan nods, and frowns, even if tyler can't see him. "i love--i love my dad. don't--don't uh--don't see him much anyways. course i would. why?"

tyler sighs and focuses on a different part of the sky. _"my_ dad wants to talk to me again. i haven't talked to him in a long time, and i don't know how to talk to him anymore."

"silly." nathan shakes his head, and tyler knows he looks a little shocked. "jus' talk to him. he's--he's your--he's your d-d-dad. dad. he's fa-family." nathan swallows a few times and takes a deep breath before taking his paintbrush back to the diorama.

tyler puffs out a breath of his own, figuring the kid is right. kids always have simple answers to everything, and tyler knows he's been overthinking things.

♃☿

tyler sits at the island in the kitchen, toying with the stem of an apple while he half watches dallon struggle with one of the steps required to make homemade tofu. he's griping about it, too, muttering things along the lines of, "if _he's_ so concerned about his fucking japanese heritage, he can make the goddamn tofu himself," while tyler just sits there and listens.

"do you talk to your parents?" is what he interrupts the older man with in the midst of his griping.

dallon's motions go from quick and jagged and frustrated to slow and thoughtful as he shrugs. "not really. why do you ask?"

"my dad, and, well, my _family_ wants to meet josh and nathan, and i'm just not sure if i'm comfortable with it. my mom--she's out of the picture, so i wouldn't have to worry about that, but... i haven't spoken with my father in _years,_ man."

"talk to him before you lose your chance. i really _goofed_ and didn't speak to my parents for fifteen years, and my relationship with them is awkward and weird and it's--it's never quite recovered. granted, i've only been sort of speaking with them again for maybe four years now, but... take it from me--never take your family for granted, with the exception of your mother, who sounds like a proper sack of shit."

♃☿

the conversation that is had regarding tyler introducing his father and his siblings to josh and nathan happens over skype. josh and tyler are seated in josh's bedroom, on the bed, late at night, since it's the only free time either of them have. tyler's lying on josh, with his face smushed into his soulmate's shoulder, and he has their blankets pulled up to his nose, hiding the lower half of his face from the webcam on josh's laptop.

tyler's first observation is that five years really have taken a toll on his father. he looks _older,_ maybe a little too old for someone barely in his fifties, and tyler almost starts crying because he feels _guilty,_ when josh elbows him and sharply says, "stop hiding," under his breath. his harsh tone holds no water, but tyler still listens to him, and lets the blanket drop to where it's only covering his upper body rather than half of his face.

the first thing his dad says to him after talking to, presumably, one of his siblings who stands out of view of the webcam, is, _"i apologize for_ that. _zack's being a little fucking_ shit."

tyler snorts and starts laughing because-- "that sounds about right."

the conversation is... tame, if anything. the three of them are only interrupted a few more times, the first time being tyler's sister asking their father if she can stay up to watch the new episode of a show she likes, and the second time being from nathan, who has masha, his stuffed bear, in his arms, looking sleepy and a little upset.

tyler was enjoying the conversation he and josh were having with his father, he really was, but that doesn't stop him from using nathan as an excuse to get up and leave the room before josh can say or do anything about it.

tyler's gone for half an hour, since he has to read nathan another, more tame bedtime story, and get him to go back to sleep, and when he's back in the bedroom, josh's laptop is shut and placed on one of the bedside tables.

josh squints at him as soon as the bedroom door is shut behind him, and tyler smiles awkwardly. "how was the rest of the skype call?" he asks.

"it was _fine,_ even if it was a touch awkward." josh rolls his eyes, and peels the blanket back, meaning for tyler to crawl into the bed next to him. "we're visiting your family, by the way," is the last thing josh says to him before rolling over, and blatantly ignoring tyler when he tries to argue.

(to be fair, josh just tells him that they can talk about it in the morning, and tyler doesn't have the energy to hound him about it much further than that.)

♃☿

thanksgiving.

tyler likes thanksgiving, and he was sort of hoping josh would let everyone stay home for that specific holiday, but after a morning of arguing and _complaining_ from either of them, tyler finds himself on a plane with nathan leaning onto his left arm, and josh leaning on his right arm, both sleeping and both holding either of his hands.

he feels kind of like a frustrated cat that's getting butt pats. he's annoyed and irritated but still calm and content, if only because his soulmate-slash-partner and his adoptive son are sleeping on him.

♃☿

josh has a house in columbus, and tyler doesn’t know why he’s even shocked by it.

“you have a _house_ here?” he asks as he’s carrying nathan, who is sleeping, to the door, closely following josh.

“i have a house in los angeles too,” he states. “the new york house is arguably the biggest and flashiest of the three, but it’s never a bad idea to invest in real estate.” he shrugs, and gets to unlocking the door. “i’m in columbus and los angeles enough to warrant owning property in either city.”

tyler just blinks and shakes his head. “can’t imagine having that kind of money to blow.”

“we’re soulmates, and you have access to my bank account.”

“yeah, but i’m not using your bank account to buy a house. i think the most i’ve even spent with your debit card was when i had to replace my laptop after it crapped out on me.” tyler hands nathan off to josh, mostly so he can take his shoes off, before taking the seven year old back, and letting josh lead him to nate’s room.

it’s similar to his bedroom in the new york house. small, with a handful of things that kids like, and it’s close to the master bedroom, which tyler presumes is where he and josh will be sleeping for the night. josh pulls the blankets back on the bed, and tyler continues holding nathan as josh takes the his son’s shoes off, dropping them on the floor, before he’s placing the seven year old onto the bed, letting josh do the honors of tucking him in.

josh gives nathan a little kiss on the forehead before letting tyler take him by the hand, and lead him out of the bedroom. tyler closes the door silently behind himself, before letting go of josh’s hand so that he can kiss him, with both hands on his cheeks. josh smiles into it, and laughs a little bit before asking, “what was that for?”

“i feel bad for fighting with you this morning,” is his excuse.

♃☿

“i’m nervous about visiting my family tomorrow.”

“i’m also nervous about visiting your family,” josh says quietly, pushing his glasses up on his nose, as he skims an email, deciding if it’s worth it to forward it to mark and to let him deal with it, or if he should delete it. “would it be too much of me to politely request that you stop pacing, because it’s making me a little… antsy?”

tyler doesn’t respond verbally, instead offering him a grunt, before he’s crawling onto the bed, until he’s next to josh, who is still looking at his phone. he lies on his stomach next to him, head propped up with one arm, and uses his other hand to reach up and poke josh’s face.

josh moves his head until it’s barely out of reach of tyler’s finger, without looking up from his phone.

“pay attention to me; i’m nervous.”

“i’m reading an email.”

“is it really so important that you can’t give your poor, _adorable_ soulmate the attention he deserves in such a trying time?”

“it’s not, but i’m still going to read it.” when tyler’s finger finally retracts after josh says this, he moves his head back. “if it makes you feel any better, i’m only a few sentences away from forwarding it to mark, and letting him deal with it.”

tyler whines a little bit, and throws his arm around josh’s abdomen, and attempts to tug him closer. “hurry up, then. if i don’t get physical contact with you soon, i’m going to die.”

“you are not going to die until we’re both very old and have lived a fulfilling and happy life together.” josh finally looks from his phone, with a stern expression on his face. “i will be very upset with you if you die before then.”

“then forward that email to mark, and hold me, so that i don’t die before i’m supposed to.”

josh rolls his eyes, but he listens to him anyways. once his phone screen is turned off, and his phone is plugged in next to the bed, he turns a little bit to look down at tyler, and to ask, “why are you nervous about visiting your family?”

“i haven’t seen or spoken to them in six or seven years, and i’m afraid they’re all going to hate me.” tyler whines again, and scoots closer to josh, resting with his head on josh’s stomach. “i don’t even know what i’m supposed to say. ‘hi? sorry i didn’t speak to any of you for basically a freaking decade?’”

“i mean… you didn’t have any control over any of that, did you? from what you’ve told me… your mom kicked you out, and wouldn’t let you have any contact with your family. that sounds like it was out of your control.”

tyler makes a face, and looks up at josh. “yeah, but i still feel bad. i don’t want them to hate me. i could’ve made more of an effort, and i could have just… _not_ ignored my dad for a year.”

“you didn’t know any better, ty. no one can blame you for not knowing any better.” josh runs his fingers through tyler’s hair.

tyler winds up moving to where he’s lying on his stomach, using _josh_ _’s_ stomach as a pillow. josh also ends up flat on his back, still running his fingers through his soulmate’s hair. “i also really hope none of them are assholes to nathan. i love that little dude so much, and i want everyone to love him as much as i do.”

“if they’re mean to him at all, i personally won’t put up with it.”

“i know you won’t.”

“i think it’ll be fine, man. we’ve both spoken to your dad, and he hasn’t sounded or seemed angry with you at all, and i’ve already explained to him that my son has anxiety problems, and that he doesn’t talk much, if at all, in social situations, and he’s been understanding about it.”

“my siblings can be assholes, though.”

“and? if your punk ass fifteen year old brother is mean to my kid, i won’t hesitate to fight him.”

“zack’s nineteen and jay is thirteen,” tyler deadpans. “my sister is the fifteen year old.”

“fine; i won’t hesitate to fight her.”

tyler shakes his head with a dumb smile crawling onto his face. “shut up and hold me.”

♃☿

tyler’s standing in the kitchen the next morning, stirring together a mixture of eggs, coffee creamer, and espresso powder for french toast when he hears quiet foot steps. he figures it’s josh, at least until there’s a small hand gripping the leg of his sweatpants, and tugging on them. he looks down at to his right, making eye contact with nathan, who has blood dripping from his nose, down his chin, and staining the front of his shirt.

“oh, _jesus._ _”_ he sets his fork down onto the counter, making a mental note to wipe the mess up later, before digging through the drawers until he’s able to find a wash cloth. it new and soft and obviously rarely used, and the part of him that grew up poor is screaming at him as he’s wetting it, but the part of him that’s in a relationship with someone who has a net worth of upwards of a few hundred million doesn’t care. the part of him that wants to take care of nathan and makes sure he didn’t hurt himself also doesn’t care, and he’s quick to kneel down onto the floor in front of him so he can gently wipe his face and neck off, before handing him the cloth, and saying, “hold that on your nose, and don’t tilt your head back.”

he makes a noise in his throat as he listens to tyler, but otherwise doesn’t respond.

“you’re not hurt, are you?” he asks.

nathan shakes his head head slowly, before quietly saying, “i was asleep.”

“well, darn.” tyler clicks his tongue. “ _that_ sucks. does any of your bedding need washed?”

nathan shrugs and breaks eye contact.

“you’re not in trouble, little dude. you should tell me so i can start a load of laundry before anything stains.”

he makes a noise that sounds similar to the noise josh makes when he doesn’t want to say something, before he just cracks and mumbles, _“mmm-m-maybe. maybe.”_

“alright, bud. why don’t you sit at the dining table, and watch something on my phone until i get back, yeah?”

after leaving nathan with his phone, he trots through the lower level of the house, and up the stairs. he runs into josh in the hallway, and accepts a hug from him. josh is sleepy, and holds onto tyler, with his face resting on the man’s shoulder as he mumbles, “why are you always up so early?”

tyler hugs him back, arms around his waist. “i was going to make french toast this morning. also… nathan has a bloody nose, if you, uh… wanna go check that out.”

“is he okay?”

“he said it happened while he was asleep. i _was_ on my way to go assess the damage on his pillowcases.”

“i can buy him new bedding. keep hugging me,” is all josh has to say when tyler goes to pull away from him. “i’m sleepy and cold.”

tyler snorts. “you know, a good way to help with that sleepiness and coldness would be for you to go make yourself a mug of coffee from the nice, strong, and _not_ watery pot that i made when i got up. i don’t think my cold hands are gonna do much to keep you warm.”

“my love for you will keep me warm.” josh’s hold on him tightens.

that draws a laugh out of tyler. “alright, alright. will you go make yourself some coffee, weirdo? i need to do a load of laundry.”

♃☿

it’s another half hour before everyone is sat at the dining table with a plate of french toast and a side of scrambled eggs, courtesy of tyler. he’s in the middle of stuffing his face with a bite of french toast when nathan taps his fork on his own plate to get tyler’s attention. “what do i call your parents?”

tyler finishes chewing after he shrugs. “well, my mom is in prison, so don’t worry about her, and, uh… i think mister joseph will do for my dad…?”

“what about me?” josh pipes up, eyebrows raised at tyler.

“please don’t call him anything weird, man.”

“can i call him ‘dad?’”

“no.” tyler gives him a stern look.

♃☿

“do you think we should stop and buy presents or something?” tyler’s jiggling his leg, and wringing his hands together, looking to josh for an answer as josh is driving.

“it’s thanksgiving. not christmas. we already bought two pies, a bottle of wine, and two bottles of sparkling cider. i don’t think gifts are necessary, at _least_ not for another month, tyler.”

“i just feel weird about this. i don’t want to disappoint them.”

“you’re not going to disappoint your family, man.” at a stop light, josh reaches over to squeeze tyler’s knee, and tyler squeezes his hand back, before josh has to retract it to shift gears.

♃☿

josh is kind enough to carry the bottles of cider and the bottle of wine, all of which are in a paper bag, plus the two pies, while tyler carries nathan on his hip. nathan’s getting a little too big for him to do it, but tyler isn’t ashamed to admit that he kind of just needs a hug, and that having a seven year old clinging to him is cathartic, in a way.

tyler knocks on the door, three times, and lets out a shaky breath when josh gently bumps into him with his shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring, since his arms are full. nathan also clings a little tighter and tyler swears he almost throws up as he hears the lock on the door clicking, unlocking, before it’s finally opening.

it’s jay that answers the door, and the first thing out of josh’s mouth is, “your dad looks a lot younger in person, tyler.”

tyler lets out a long-suffering sigh, and jay says, “he’s not as cool in person as i thought he was going to be.”

♃☿

thanksgiving is awkward for about fifteen minutes, before tyler gets over it. there aren’t any long, emotional talks that are had—not that tyler wouldn’t have loved to have one—and, really, it’s a lovely dinner. josh charms everyone, just as he always does, and nathan doesn’t talk a whole lot, but when he does, everyone is patient and listens to him. (zack even engages him in a conversation, and out of everyone to pay any attention to nathan, zack wasn’t who he expected.)

it’s not perfect and things are still a little tense and weird and tyler still doesn’t know how to go about talking to anyone without apologizing for just up and leaving like he did, even though he knows he was within his rights to do that in the first place, but overall it’s not a _bad_ experience.

♃☿

tyler’s on the patio smoking a cigarette and taking a moment to decompress.

he’s not surprised that he’s interrupted, but he is a little surprised that it’s zack who’s interrupting him.

tyler smacks his hand away with he reaches for the pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket, saying, “ _uh,_ i think the fuck _not,_ you little shit. since _when_ do you smoke?”

“i used to steal cigarettes from mom, and i started smoking when i turned eighteen. let me bum one. you’re rich, now.”

tyler grunts, and holds his own cigarette between his lips as he picks a cigarette out of his pack, and hands it to him. he lights it, too. “i’m not rich.”

“you’re basically married to the highest paid baseball player in the country. try again.”

“and i said—i’m not rich. we don’t share bank accounts and i’m still very much financially independent. fuck off. asshole.” he does leave out the fact that he does, in fact, have a copy of josh’s debit card, though.

“i haven’t spoken to you in _years,_ and you’re already calling me an asshole? you’re the worst big brother.”

“just because we haven’t spoken in awhile doesn’t mean i can’t still be mean to you.” tyler sticks his tongue in his cheek, and raises his eyebrows. “a long silent period will not stop me.”

“aren’t you supposed to be a social worker?” he points out.

“you’re nineteen, and you’re an adult now. i can be mean to you and not feel guilty about it. also, you’re smoking _my_ cigarettes, so shut up. you deserve an insult or two.”

zack giggles, and reaches over to smack tyler. (gently, of course.)

tyler smacks his hand away, and smiles.

“i’m glad shit isn’t awkward, bro.”

“i mean, it is a little bit, to be fair,” tyler tells him.

“well, _yeah,_ but we’re getting over it.”


End file.
